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Virginia · Weigh your options

How to stop a foreclosure in Virginia

Virginia gives you fewer built-in brakes than many states. There is no court hearing, no statewide mediation program and no right to buy the home back after the sale. That makes the weeks before the sale date the time that matters most. None of these options is guaranteed to work in your case, so get help from a HUD-approved counselor or legal aid early.

Ask for help in Virginia Free HUD counselor: (800) 569-4287

Reviewed against Virginia law and official sources on October 12, 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Ways to stop or delay a foreclosure in Virginia

  • Apply for loss mitigation with your servicer

    As early as possible; more than 37 days before the sale for federal review protection

    Ask for a modification, forbearance, repayment plan, short sale or deed in lieu, and send every document requested. If your loan is serviced by Virginia Housing, use its Borrower's Assistance Program and loss mitigation department. A HUD-approved counselor can help you with the application for free.

    12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(g)

  • Catch up on the past-due amount (reinstate)

    Before the sale, if your deed of trust or servicer allows it

    Virginia law does not give you a separate right to reinstate, so check your deed of trust and ask the servicer in writing for a reinstatement quote and deadline. Your 60-day notice must show the total principal, interest, costs and fees in arrears, which is a starting point for that request.

    Va. Code § 55.1-321(F)

  • Check the notice and the advertising

    As soon as you get the notice, and before the sale

    For a home you live in, the notice must be mailed at least 60 days ahead and include your arrears and the counseling and legal aid information. The trustee cannot sell without a signed affidavit that the notice was sent. A sale with defective advertising can be set aside by a court on petition. Show any problems to a lawyer before the sale date.

    Va. Code §§ 55.1-320(10), 55.1-321, 55.1-322(E)

  • Ask the circuit court about a second mortgage or lost note

    Before the sale

    On certain old second mortgages you can petition the circuit court for an accounting if you think interest or fees were charged in error, and recover attorney fees if you are right. If the lender says the note is lost, you can ask the court to require protection for you before the sale.

    Va. Code § 55.1-321(A1), (B)

  • Ask for a postponement

    Before the sale

    Postponement is up to the trustee. Ask your servicer to tell the trustee you have a complete application or a sale or refinance in progress, and ask the trustee directly. Get any agreement in writing.

    Va. Code § 55.1-321(D)

  • Bankruptcy stay

    Before the sale

    Filing bankruptcy triggers the federal automatic stay, which stops the sale for the time being. Chapter 13 can let you catch up over a plan. Talk to a licensed bankruptcy attorney or legal aid before filing.

    11 U.S.C. § 362(a)

What Virginia law gives you

The right to catch up and stop the sale

Limited right

We did not find a Virginia statute that gives you a right to catch up and stop the sale. Any right to reinstate comes from your deed of trust and your servicer's rules. Many standard deeds of trust do allow it. The notice of sale must tell you the total amount due in arrears, so ask the servicer in writing for a reinstatement figure and deadline as soon as you get the notice.

Va. Code § 55.1-321(F)

Foreclosure mediation

No statewide program

Virginia has no statewide foreclosure mediation program that we could find. Because most foreclosures do not go through a court, there is no settlement conference. The required notice of sale must give you the state legal aid contact and a list of HUD-approved housing counselors.

60-day notice with help information

For an owner-occupied home, the notice must be mailed at least 60 days before the sale. It must include the HUD housing counseling website, the statewide legal aid website and phone number, and a statement that it is not a notice to vacate.

Va. Code § 55.1-321(A), (E)

Arrears must be spelled out

The notice must state the date and amount of the last payment received, the total principal, interest, costs and fees in arrears, and the remaining principal balance.

Va. Code § 55.1-321(F)

Limits on old second mortgages

Under a 2024 change, certain holders of a subordinate mortgage must give the trustee an affidavit on whether monthly statements were sent, and cannot charge interest or fees for periods when required statements were not sent. You can ask the circuit court for an accounting before the sale, and recover attorney fees if charges were wrong. Original creditors, their servicers, banks and credit unions are exempt.

Va. Code § 55.1-321(A1)

Buyer must pay off senior liens

A buyer at a foreclosure sale must certify that it will pay off any priority mortgage within 90 days after the trustee's deed is recorded. If you keep paying that senior loan after the sale, you can ask the circuit court to make the buyer repay you.

Va. Code § 55.1-321(A2)

The options your servicer can offer

Common questions in Virginia

Does Virginia have a foreclosure mediation program?

We could not find a statewide foreclosure mediation program in Virginia. Because most Virginia foreclosures never go to court, there is no settlement conference either. Instead, the 60-day notice must point you to HUD-approved counselors and the statewide legal aid center (Va. Code § 55.1-321(E)).

Can I stop a Virginia foreclosure if the trustee did not send the 60-day notice?

Possibly, but act before the sale. The law says the trustee cannot sell a home you live in without an affidavit confirming the notice was sent (Va. Code § 55.1-320(10)). But it also says a failure to follow the notice rules does not by itself undo a completed sale (Va. Code § 55.1-321(C)). A lawyer can tell you how to raise the problem in time.

Can a Virginia foreclosure rescue company charge me upfront?

No. Under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act, anyone offering to stop or avoid foreclosure cannot collect a fee until the promised services are fully performed, and if the deal involves selling your home, not before settlement (Va. Code § 59.1-200.1). Report anyone who asks for money first to the Attorney General.

Step by step

More on foreclosure in Virginia

Understand the process

What is happening and how much time there is.

Weigh your options

What can stop it, and what happens if it goes ahead.

Get help now

Who to call, and what to do when a sale is scheduled.

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Sources for this page

  1. Va. Code § 55.1-323 (contents of advertisements of sale)
  2. Va. Code § 55.1-331 (disposition of surplus after death of grantor)
  3. Va. Code § 55.1-1237 (notice to tenant in event of foreclosure)
  4. Va. Code § 8.01-129 (appeal from general district court)
  5. Va. Code § 8.01-470 (writs of eviction; 72-hour notice)
  6. Va. Code § 8.01-471 (time for issuing and executing writs of eviction)
  7. Va. Code § 64.2-1309 (accounts of sales under deeds of trust)
  8. Virginia Judicial System Court Self-Help
  9. Va. Code § 55.1-320 (how deed of trust construed; duties of parties)
  10. Va. Code § 55.1-321 (notices required before sale by trustee)
  11. Va. Code § 55.1-322 (advertisement required before sale by trustee)
  12. Va. Code § 55.1-324 (powers and duties of trustee in event of sale)
  13. Va. Code § 59.1-200.1 (prohibited practices; foreclosure rescue)
  14. Virginia Housing: Foreclosure Prevention Options
  15. City of Alexandria (archived notice): Virginia Mortgage Relief Program
  16. Virginia SCC: File a Complaint
  17. Va. Code § 8.01-126 (unlawful detainer; former owner after foreclosure)
  18. Virginia Law Help: Housing (866-LEGLAID)